Saint Martin (2007) | Svalbard (2001) | |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years:
NA% 15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% |
Airports | 1 | 4 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 |
total:
1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
3 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 54.4 sq km
land: 54.4 sq km water: NEGL |
total:
62,049 sq km land: 62,049 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Spitsbergen and Bjornoya (Bear Island) |
Area - comparative | more than one-third the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than West Virginia |
Background | Although sighted by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1493 and claimed for Spain, it was the Dutch who occupied the island in 1631 and set about exploiting its salt deposits. The Spanish retook the island in 1633, but continued to be harassed by the Dutch. The Spanish finally relinquished St. Martin to the French and Dutch, who divided it amongst themselves in 1648. The cultivation of sugar cane introduced slavery to the island in the late 18th century; the practice was not abolished until 1848. The island became a free port in 1939; the tourism industry was dramatically expanded during the 1970s and 1980s. In 2003, the populace of St. Martin voted to secede from Guadeloupe and in 2007, the northern portion of the island became a French overseas collectivity. | First discovered by the Norwegians in the 12th century, the islands served as an international whaling base during the 17th and 18th centuries. Norway's sovereignty was recognized in 1920; five years later it officially took over the territory. |
Birth rate | - | NA births/1,000 population |
Budget | - | revenues:
$11.5 million expenditures: $11.5 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.) |
Capital | name: Marigot
geographical coordinates: 18 04 N, 63 05 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour behind Washington, DC, during Standard Time) daylight savings: +1 hour |
Longyearbyen |
Climate | temperature averages 80-85 degrees all year long; low humidity, gentle trade winds, brief, intense rain showers; July-Novemeber is the hurricane season | arctic, tempered by warm North Atlantic Current; cool summers, cold winters; North Atlantic Current flows along west and north coasts of Spitsbergen, keeping water open and navigable most of the year |
Coastline | 58.9 km (for entire island) | 3,587 km |
Constitution | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) | - |
Country name | conventional long form: Overseas Collectivity of Saint Martin
conventional short form: Saint Martin local long form: Collectivity d'outre mer de Saint-Martin local short form: Saint-Martin |
conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Svalbard (sometimes referred to as Spitzbergen) |
Currency | - | Norwegian krone (NOK) |
Death rate | - | NA deaths/1,000 population |
Dependency status | - | territory of Norway; administered by the Ministry of Industry, Oslo, through a governor (sysselmann) residing in Longyearbyen, Spitsbergen; by treaty (9 February 1920) sovereignty was given to Norway |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas collectivity of France) | - |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas collectivity of France) | - |
Disputes - international | - | focus of a maritime boundary dispute between Norway and Russia |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $8.2 million from Norway (1998) |
Economy - overview | The economy of Saint Martin centers around tourism with 85% of the labor force engaged in this sector. Over one million visitors come to the island each year with most arriving through the Princess Juliana International Airport in Sint Maarten. No significant agriculture and limited local fishing means that almost all food must be imported. Energy resources and manufactured goods are also imported, primarily from Mexico and the United States. Saint Martin is reported to have the highest per capita income in the Caribbean. | Coal mining is the major economic activity on Svalbard. The treaty of 9 February 1920 gives the 41 signatories equal rights to exploit mineral deposits, subject to Norwegian regulation. Although US, UK, Dutch, and Swedish coal companies have mined in the past, the only companies still mining are Norwegian and Russian. The settlements on Svalbard are essentially company towns. The Norwegian state-owned coal company employs nearly 60% of the Norwegian population on the island, runs many of the local services, and provides most of the local infrastructure. There is also some trapping of seal, polar bear, fox, and walrus. |
Electricity - consumption | - | NA kWh |
Electricity - production | - | NA kWh |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pic du Paradis 424 m |
lowest point:
Arctic Ocean 0 m highest point: Newtontoppen 1,717 m |
Environment - current issues | fresh water supply is dependent on desalinization of sea water | NA |
Ethnic groups | creole (mulatto), black, Guadeloupe Mestizo (French-East Asia), white, East Indian | Norwegian 55.4%, Russian and Ukrainian 44.3%, other 0.3% (1998) |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002) | Norwegian kroner per US dollar - 8.7784 (January 2001), 8.8018 (2000), 7.7992 (1999), 7.5451 (1998), 7.0734 (1997), 6.4498 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Nicolas SARKOZY (since 16 May 2007), represented by Prefect Dominique LACROIX (since 21 March 2007)
head of government: President of the Territorial Council Louis-Constant FLEMING (since 16 July 2007) cabinet: Executive Council; note - there is also an advisory economic, social, and cultural council election: French president elected by popular vote to a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; president of the Territorial Council is elected by the members of the Council for a five-year term election results: Louis-Constant FLEMING unanimously elected president by the Territorial Council on 16 July 2007 |
chief of state:
King HARALD V of Norway (since 17 January 1991) head of government: Governor Morten RUUD (since NA November 1998) and Assistant Governor Odd Redar HUMLEGAARD (since NA) elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor and assistant governor responsible to the Polar Department of the Ministry of Justice |
Exports | - | $NA |
Flag description | the flag of France is used | the flag of Norway is used |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $NA |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1%
industry: 15% services: 84% (2000) |
- |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $NA |
GDP - real growth rate | - | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 18 05 N, 63 57 W | 78 00 N, 20 00 E |
Geography - note | the island of Saint Martin is the smallest landmass in the World shared by two independent states, the French territory of Saint Martin and the Dutch territory of Sint Maarten | northernmost part of the Kingdom of Norway; consists of nine main islands; glaciers and snowfields cover 60% of the total area |
Highways | - | total:
NA km paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | - | $NA |
Imports - commodities | crude petroleum, food, manufactured items | - |
Imports - partners | US, Mexico (2006) | - |
Independence | none (overseas collectivity of France) | none (territory of Norway) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | NA% |
Industries | tourism, light industry and manufacturing, heavy industry | - |
Infant mortality rate | - | NA deaths/1,000 live births |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | NA% |
International organization participation | UPU | none |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 13 (Svalbard and Jan Mayen) (2000) |
Irrigated land | - | NA sq km |
Labor force | - | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | 85% directly or indirectly employed in tourist industry | - |
Land boundaries | total: 15 km
border countries: Netherlands Antilles (Sint Maarten) 15 km |
0 km |
Land use | - | arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 0% other: 100% (no trees, and the only bushes are crowberry and cloudberry) |
Languages | French (official language), English, Dutch, French Patois, Spanish, Papiamento (dialect of Netherlands Antilles) | Russian, Norwegian |
Legal system | the laws of France, where applicable, apply | NA |
Legislative branch | unicameral Territorial Council (23 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 1 and 8 July 2007 (next to be held July 2012) election results: percent of seats by party - UPP 49%, RRR 42.2%, Reussir Saint-Martin 8.9%; seats by party - UPP 16, RRR 6, Reussir Saint-Martin 1 |
- |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population:
NA years male: NA years female: NA years |
Location | island 300 km southeast of Puerto Rico | Northern Europe, islands between the Arctic Ocean, Barents Sea, Greenland Sea, and Norwegian Sea, north of Norway |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Arctic Region |
Maritime claims | - | exclusive fishing zone:
200 NM unilaterally claimed by Norway but not recognized by Russia territorial sea: 4 NM |
Merchant marine | - | none (2000 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | demilitarized by treaty (9 February 1920) |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789); note - local holiday is Schoalcher Day (Slavery Abolition Day) 12 July (1848) | NA |
Natural hazards | - | ice floes often block up the entrance to Bellsund (a transit point for coal export) on the west coast and occasionally make parts of the northeastern coast inaccessible to maritime traffic |
Natural resources | salt | coal, copper, iron ore, phosphate, zinc, wildlife, fish |
Net migration rate | - | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population |
Political parties and leaders | Union Pour le Progres or UPP [Louis Constant FLEMING]; Rassemblement Responsabilite Reussite or RRR [Alain RICHARDSON]; Reussir Saint-Martin [Jean-Luc HAMLET] | - |
Population | 33,102 (October 2004 census) | 2,332 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA% |
Population growth rate | - | -3.55% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Barentsburg, Longyearbyen, Ny-Alesund, Pyramiden |
Radio broadcast stations | FM 3 (2007) | AM 1, FM 1 (plus 2 repeaters), shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | NA |
Railways | - | 0 km |
Religions | Roman Catholic, Jehovah's Witness, Protestant, Hindu | - |
Suffrage | 18 years of age, universal | - |
Telephone system | general assessment: fully integrated access
domestic: direct dial capability with both fixed and wireless systems international: country code - 590; undersea fiber-optic cable provides voice and data connectivity to Puerto Rico and Gudaloupe |
general assessment:
probably adequate domestic: local telephone service international: satellite earth station - 1 of unknown type (for communication with Norwegian mainland only) |
Telephones - main lines in use | - | NA |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | NA |
Television broadcast stations | - | NA |
Terrain | - | wild, rugged mountains; much of high land ice covered; west coast clear of ice about one-half of the year; fjords along west and north coasts |
Total fertility rate | - | NA children born/woman |
Transportation - note | nearest airport for international flights is Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM) located in Sint Maarten | - |
Waterways | - | none |